Shareholders OK American Greetings buyout

CLEVELAND – American Greetings Corp. shareholders have approved a deal for the company's founders, the Weiss family, to take the greeting card giant private.

The company said Wednesday that at a special meeting, shareholders adopted the previously announced agreement under which the Weiss family will buy out American Greetings for $19 per share in cash.

The transaction, valued at about $612 million, is expected to close on or about Aug. 9, pending the satisfaction of the remaining conditions in the merger agreement.

American Greetings said the vote met the "majority of the minority" shareholder approval condition in the agreement. Shareholders representing 81% of the voting power of the company's outstanding stock voted in favor of the deal, as did 67% of the shareholders of the company's outstanding stock not owned by the Weiss family and its affiliated entities or American Greetings directors and officers.

American Greetings agreed to be acquired by a newly formed entity owned by the Weiss family — including company chairman Morry Weiss; director and chief executive officer Zev Weiss; director, president and chief operating officer Jeffrey Weiss; and others — in April.

The Weiss family first expressed its interest in a possible buyout of American Greetings last September, after which the company's board created a special committee of independent directors to consider the proposal.

The company's greeting card brands include American Greetings, Carlton Cards and Gibson.